Kits

A BRIEF HISTORY

When first produced, the Vickers-Armstrong "6 ton" light tank could not find acceptance with the British Army because the 2 small turrets on the tank were fitted with machine guns only. The tank was later modified into the "B" version that had a 47mm gun and the turret was moved to the right side due to traffic in England being left-sided.

THE MODEL

Upon opening the kit box, there are 12 sprue trees in a bag, some vinyl treads and a small decal sheet. The smaller parts trees are lettered with numbered parts. The largest tree is not lettered but the parts are numbered. There is no parts layout diagram. Marking options are for a Mk. F and B version in Bulgarian Army colors, 1938, in what looks like Panzer gray or a Mk. F version for a British Army training unit, 1939, in a dark earth color. There appears to be no decals for the British version but turret decals are provided for the Bulgarian version.

Before World War II started, Germany had already begun to investigate the feasibility of putting infantry support guns under armor and giving them cross-country mobility, providing heavy fire support to infantry units during the advance. This led to the line of vehicles collectively known as Sturmgeschutz. Built on converted Panzer III chassis, they were produced in ever increasing numbers right up to the end of the war. Continuous up-grades were made as their roles evolved. Originally envisioned to provide on-call, organic fire support to infantry units during the assault, they became premier tank killers of the German armored forces by the end of hostilities.

The Kit

The Orange Box Series from Dragon are basically previously released models that have been repackaged. This particular kit is a combo of the Dragon 6069 Schwerer Plattformwagen Typ SSY railcar flat top and the Dragon Kit # 9018 Pz Bef Wg III Ausf K

The Ship

The USS Independence (LCS-2) is the second Littoral Combat Ship commissioned by the U. S. Navy, and the leader of the Independence class. She is an aluminum high speed trimaran capable of speeds in excess of 44 knots (50mph), with a range of over 4300 nautical miles at 18 knots. Commissioned on 16 Jan 2010, she has a length of 418 feet and beam of 104 feet, with a large flight deck and mission bay located beneath the flight deck. Capable of handling many types of aircraft, including the CH-53 and the V-22 Osprey, she can be configured to accomplish many different missions through the use of "mission" modules. Very cool ship!